


The Tale of the Wasp

by Philosophercat



Category: Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 (TV)
Genre: Bugs & Insects, Gen, Ghosts, Wasps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 11:50:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14617890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Philosophercat/pseuds/Philosophercat
Summary: "I never said I was a scholar, but you're the one who thinks there is a wasp stalking you."





	The Tale of the Wasp

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Metalkatt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metalkatt/gifts).



The Tale of the Wasp

Shang Bu Huan stared across the table, his hand still clutching his cup frozen in the midst of downing the last of his drink. His eyes flicked to the cup and his face turned pale with dread. Lin Xue Ya was screaming inarticulately- a totally new and startling sound like some exotic bird. Xue Ya's eyes were wide and fixed on his cup, or rather, on the contents of his cup.

Bu Huan stood, pushing back his chair and looked around at the gawping tavern patrons. Most of them knew the men by reputation; Shang Bu Huan, whose art name was the Edgeless Blade, a strange sort of pacifist: so skilled a swordsman and so loath to kill he fought with a wooden sword or with its scabbard yet still managed to end his foes with a single stroke. And Lin Xue Ya, the Enigmatic Gale, elegance and cunning personified. They had serious doubts about these reputations now, however...

Xue Ya eventually had to stop screaming to take a breath. Bu Huan shook him. "Poison?!" he said. Xue Ya's eyes snapped to his. "N-no," he stammered, his mouth still drawn back in horror. Bu Huan frowned, annoyed, and let Xue Ya's shoulders slump back against the wall. He snatched up the cup and turned it around. There was a clear amber liquid and nothing more. He set it back down and resumed his seat. Xue Ya had progressed to sobbing, his head pressed against the table, his arms wrapped around his head.

Bu Huan crossed his arms, and his feet under his stool. He regarded Xue Ya with a curious look but said nothing. Once the tavern had recovered from the outburst, and Xue Ya's violent sobs ebbed to whimpers, Bu Huan sighed and said: "Wasp?" Another whimper, a roll of the head still pressed onto the table. "But there wasn't a wasp in the cup--"

"It was there!" Bu Huan blinked at his companion's sudden fury. "It was for me! That's why you couldn't see it, you idiot! You idiot!" Xue Ya had lost all of his usual elegance. His hair was knotted and wild, his clothes askew.

"Hey," Bu Huan raised a placating hand. "I never said I was a scholar, but you're the one who thinks there is a wasp stalking you." Xue Ya glared at him mutely. "The same wasp, following you for- how long now?"

"It's not a wasp," Xue Ya stabbed a finger at Bu Huan. "It's him!"

Bu Huan covered his face with his hand. "Yare.... yare..." He stood and regarded the brooding Xue Ya for a moment. "I'm going out. I need some air," he pushed in his stool and walked out of the tavern. It was night, but the lamp outside bathed a good deal of the neighbourhood in light. It was pleasantly cool, and the contrast of the gold of the lantern's flame and the deep blue of the sky pleased him.

His eyes were drawn to the darting shapes of insects hovering around the glass of the lantern. He huffed to himself and rubbed the back of his neck; just looking at the things made him feel like something was crawling on his shoulder back there. Maybe whatever had afflicted Xue Ya was rubbing off.

"You're right," said a voice just over his shoulder. He turned, but saw no one.

"Eh?" said Bu Huan. "You can come out here, if you want to talk."

"I'm here," said the voice again. "You just keep looking past me."

Bu Huan hardened his expression. "What kind of talk is that?" he looked around again. "Are you between the houses or something? Why play games?"

"No, I'm right here, on your shoulder." Bu Huan was in the middle of growling something when he spotted the wasp on his cloak.

"Oh, very funny," he said. "You probably planned it, right? Weeks of paranoia building up to a public break down, and then you use your pipe or whatever to make me think I'm talking to a wasp. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"What do you mean?"

Bu huan raised his hand to hit the insect, then lowered it to his side. Alright, he would go with it. "You, Lin Xue Ya, have found yet another way to vex me. This time with magic tricks."

"Oh," said the voice. "No, that's not it at all."

"Isn't it?" snorted Bu Huan.

"No. I'm here to kill him- Lin Xue Ya. I have not yet chosen his end; not yet calculated the moves..."

Bu Huan was silent for a moment, listening to the voice and its faint buzzing.

"Infection. Allergic reaction. Venom. Virus. Bacteria. And then, where to strike? Bite. Sting... The time is also a crucial factor. It will take time to find the answer."

Bu Huan whet his tongue. "How can you kill him? You're dead," he said.

"You are asking why the Destoyer of Life can kill someone, even from the underworld."

Bu Huang laughed. "Hey, man, you know what I think about that stuff. Anyway, you had your duel. Your honour was satified."

"But not justice," said the voice. "You should not interfere, Shang Bu Huan. He intends to make you his bodyguard. To kill him would satisfy justice, and spare you from a similar fate to my own."

"Eh?" said Bu Huan. "I don't know about that; I'm going to die one day just like anyone. Besides, being immortal is unappealing. Furthermore..." he paused to collect his thoughts. "Furthermore, what's this about being a bodyguard? I never signed up for that."

The air was filled with a buzzing noise. Bu Huan looked for the wasp but couldn't find it. He jumped as he heard footsteps behind him. Lin Xue Ya glided out of the tavern and looked placidly at Bu Huan. "Our rooms are prepared," he said, smoothing down a long lock of his silver hair.

"Right," said Bu Huan. "I'll be right there." Lin Xue Ya turned and walked back into the tavern. Bu Huan glanced over his shoulder as he went.

"Hey," he said quietly. "Uh... Instead of killing him, you could just annoy him. I mean, think of how annoying he is," he hooked his thumb back at the tavern. "Serving up what he dishes out would be justice, right? Just... be artful about it. Don't come on so strong." The night was still and clear. "Just something to think about," said Bu Huan straightening up. He paused a moment, his hand on the door. He saw motes of soil blown in tiny swirls along the road way, under the lamp. He shrugged and stepped inside.


End file.
